Abstract
The role of informal caregivers was included in the Assumptions of the Long-Term Senior Policy in Poland for 2014–2020. The document acknowledged the necessity of diagnosing the needs of informal caregivers of elderly people and to implement systemic solutions that would enable the provision of assistance for them. In response, this study aimed to describe the situation of caregivers of patients receiving versus patients not receiving Long-Term Home Nursing Care (LTHNC; i.e., a formal program including regular visits by a nurse specializing in home care) in terms of caregiver socio-demographic characteristics, health self-assessment, work overload, satisfaction derived from being a caregiver, and the quality of perceived support. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Carers of Older People in Europe (COPE) Index in 2015 in the north-eastern part of Poland involving 170 caregivers of patients supported with LTHNC and 86 caregivers of patients staying at home and not receiving LTHNC. We found that caregivers for patients receiving LTHNC were significantly less overloaded with care work than caregivers for patients without LTHNC support (p < 0.001). LTHNC support was also related to the level of satisfaction with providing care: Caregivers for patients receiving LTHNC were significantly more satisfied with performing their role and felt greater support than caregivers for patients without LTHNC (p < 0.001). Our study provides evidence for a positive relationship between LTHNC and the situation of informal caregivers of dependent elderly people at home. A formal program of visits by a nurse specializing in long-term home care may facilitate the provision by caregivers of better informal care to patients staying at home.
Highlights
As in many other European countries, Poland’s population is an aging one
A formal program of visits by a nurse specializing in long-term home care may facilitate the provision by caregivers of better informal care to patients staying at home
Analyzing the mean values in the three subscales of the Carers of Older People in Europe (COPE) Index, we found a positive correlation between Long-Term Home Nursing Care (LTHNC) and the caregivers’ situation (Figure 1)
Summary
As in many other European countries, Poland’s population is an aging one. According to the Central Statistical Office, at the end of 2016 the proportion of people aged 65 or older in the general population was 16.4%, whereas in 1990 it was 10.2% [1]. This highlights the growing need for various forms of support for dependent elderly people in their home environment. There is a need for more scientific studies to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the state of home care in Europe [2]. Public Health 2019, 16, 1189; doi:10.3390/ijerph16071189 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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